How to Apply What You Learn—Research on Major-Job Matching of Higher Vocational Students

An increasing number of countries recognize the significance of vocational education due to its potential to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of life. However, major-job mismatch among Chinese vocational graduates seriously hinders the benefits of vocational education. Within the framework of Ecological Systems Theory, this study analysed data from Chinese higher vocational students and used feature selection models, such as random forest and LASSO regression, to identify key predictors of major-job matching. Binomial logit regression was then employed to conduct a comprehensive analysis and test the results' robustness. We found that internship-related factors were most strongly associated with major-job matching among higher vocational students, while intergenerational closure factors were also relatively important. Nonetheless, other factors like family socioeconomic status, which have been linked to employment quality in other studies, exhibited a weaker correlation with major-job matching for higher vocational students. This study offers insight to address the major-job mismatch faced by Chinese vocational college students, while also providing international empirical support for the ecological approach in exploring the multifaceted factors.